'1,000 dead in Saudi-led airstrikes in Yemen'

Saa, April 9: At least 1,000 people have been killed in Yemen and over 15,000 others wounded since the beginning of the Saudi-led Arab coalition air offensive on March 26, according to Ashraf Luqman, a Yemeni army spokesman loyal to the Shia Houthi rebel movement. Luqman said on Thursday that among the dead were 200 children, 40 women and 20 elderly people, but did not specify the total number of civilian fatalities, Efe news agency reported.

The bombings also destroyed more than 1,000 homes, according to the spokesman.

Saudi Arabia has been leading the coalition, composed of Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Jordan, Egypt, Sudan and Morocco, against the Houthis in a series of airstrikes to take back territories seized by the militant Shia group. (IANS)